The present invention relates to a medical equipment or medical facility which enables a medical care or surgical operation on the same operating table by use of information obtained by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus and information obtained by unit such as an endoscope for imaging a local portion.
JP-A-7-194616 has proposed a surgical operation supporting system in which the inserted state of an interposition such as a catheter inserted into an object to be inspected can be confirmed in real time, thereby making it possible to correctly perform an inserting operation of the interposition. This surgical operation supporting system is provided with a bed having a top table capable of small movement and an X-ray tomographic imaging apparatus (or X-ray CT apparatus) and can generate a tomographic (or cross-sectional) image or three-dimensional image of the object fixed on the top table.
Further, JP-A-8-140958 has proposed a medical care under an inspecting environment using an open gantry MRI apparatus.
Also, JP-A-7-194609 has proposed an apparatus in which a medical care is performed utilizing a master/slave manipulator for medical use and an endoscope.
Thus, there have been proposed the systems enabling the measurement or inspection of an affected part in a body non-incursively from the outside of the body and the apparatuses aiming at a minimally invasive operation in which a surgical operation can be performed with no large cut of the body surface.
In the surgical operation supporting system disclosed by the JP-A-7-194616 as the above-mentioned prior art, a three-dimensional measurement is possible in a noninvasive manner for a patient but the use of the supporting system for a surgical operation is not taken into consideration. Since there may be the case where the surgical operation is performed over a long time, it is necessary that the imaging of an affected part can be performed over the long time. Also, it is necessary that a detailed image of particulars can be obtained. In the case of the X-ray CT apparatus, there is a problem of exposure of medical staffs and hence it is difficult to continue the measurement over a long time during a surgical operation. Also, it is difficult to obtain a detailed image of an affected part which is required for the surgical operation (or such an image as seen with the naked eyes).
In the case where an X-ray CT apparatus is used as a surgical operation supporting system, it is general as the way of use that the inspection of an affected part is performed by the X-ray CT apparatus before a surgical operation and the effect of the surgical operation is confirmed by performing the inspection by use of the X-ray CT apparatus again after the surgical operation. However, in the case where the effect of the surgical operation could not be confirmed as the result of the inspection after the surgical operation, a surgical operation will be needed again. This imposes a large load on both a patient and a doctor.
In the case where the open configurated gantry MRI apparatus disclosed by the JP-A-8-140958 is used for a surgical operation, the problem of exposure of medical staffs during the surgical operation over the long time can be solved. However, it is still difficult to obtain the detailed image of an affected part which is required for the surgical operation (or such an image as seen with the naked eyes). Further, the JP-A-8-140958 shows that a medical care is performed by a doctor at a place which is very close to the MRI apparatus. However, when considering an unexpected accident caused by a high-strength magnetic field or any influence as in the case where a metal is brought carry by any chance, it is preferable that the surgical operation can be performed by the doctor without getting near the MRI apparatus.
In the case where a minimally invasive operation is performed by use of the manipulator disclosed by the JPA-7-194609, the neighborhood of a working area of the manipulator is observed by an endoscope without largely cutting the body surface at a surgical operating position. In this case, the field of view of the endoscope is narrow or it is only a very limited range of a surgical operating area which can be observed. Therefore, it is not possible to observe the surgical operating area or an affected part in a wide range.
Also, even if an apparatus or system capable of an advanced medical treatment is contrived, the security takes preference of the whole, at the scene of medical treatment. Therefore, also in a surgical operating apparatus in which diagnostic techniques and manipulators are freely used, it is important to keep the security.